User blog:The Sapphire Panda/Return of the Salt Princess: A Musical Analysis
So, for many of you, this blog post won't be very interesting. However, for me, it is the most fun I could have while waiting for the game to release. Of course, that would be... symbolism! Yeah, yell your "boos" now, people. I know I'm lame for analyzing symbolism. But hear me out. I find it fun to find evidence and see how a character relates to it. By comparing them to a similar object we can get a deeper insight to their character and learn their intentions. In this case, it could even help us predict stuff about the story before it's released. That being said, below is a lot of symbolism I found in the game. Musical In which I analyze the game's music for character info. Serafina's Song (song that plays when she talks): Can we please agree that this is the best song in the game so far? I love it, at least. Anyway, the song is primarily piano, a classical instrument, but it starts off slow and kind of calm. Towards the middle, it becomes more passionate, and then towards the end there's no piano and it feels aggressive until it eventually calms down and ends. This represents Serafina very well, as she's hotheaded and heated (like the song). The song is very intense and I love it. 'Mercy's Song '(song that plays when Mercy talks): The best way I can describe this song is icy. It starts off mysterious/uneasy with crystal-like tones playing. Then, it gets slightly more intense and is the same rhythm but with more pauses and variations. Towards the end, the rhythm is completely gone and replaced with sad, childlike tunes of innocence with more ice crystals, except now it's more gentle and sad. Then the song picks back up and ends eventually. I feel like this definitely represents Mercy for a couple reasons. First, the icy tones represent her powers and her mysterious character. Her face almost always seems devoid of emotion... what secrets could she be hiding? Second, the childlike/sad part could represent how she's technically the "child" of Serafina and herself. She's younger, and the sad tones might represent something happening in her life. 'Daemon Evokers Song '(song plays when unknown man speaks): This song is my least favorite of the bunch, but it's still great. It starts off with eerie choral singing -- it sounds ancient and like a ritual, possibly representing the Daemon Evokers' peaceful lifestyle. Then, suddenly, intense drums can be heard, banging behind a now more urgent choral singing. This could represent the ancient ways being challenged, or possibly the war between Grak and the Evokers. Eventually, the drums and singing die out and are replaced by a lonely strings instrument, slowly spiraling down until it ends. I think this means the Daemon Evokers went to war, lost to Grak, and then their civilization collapsed over time. The unknown man may be all that's left of his race -- maybe that's why he wants Brigid? 'Brigid's Song '(menu theme): I don't think this song has much symbolism in it. Gemstones I made a comment about this earlier, but here it is if you didn't see it before. In the Salt Mine, one tablet that you place on a door has three gemstones you put in it: kyanite, sillimanite, and andalusite. What does this mean, you ask? Well, there's lots of symbolism with these gems. To start, kyanite is a blue gem that you place in the door. Upon researching it, kyanite is said to help one with speech and revealing the words you want to say. The blue color and the meaning of this stone corresponds to Mercy, who is calm and expresses emotion via words. Second, let's look at sillimanite. Though red sillimanite doesn't exist, the game uses it to symbolize Serafina. Sillimanite is used to gain energy and persevere through tough situations. This is very similar to Serafina, who expresses emotion via action. She always has lots of energy and seems to go through emotional extremes. Unlike kyanite, sillimanite has no calm associated with it. This directly parallels Serafina and Mercy. Lastly, there's andalusite, symbolizing Brigid. This stone is green in the game (though it's not commonly green in real life) and represents gaining wisdom, rising above fights, and finding love. Though none of these traits seem to apply to Brigid now, I bet by the end of the game she'll posess all these traits (except for love, unless some new character joins the game). By the end of the game, she'll have learned the reason for her exile and overcome the fight with the dragon and the man from the evil clan. Using the meaning of andalusite, we can predict Brigid's role in the story. Three gems are used in the Grak Kingdom's crest, too: andalusite, kyanite, and sillimanite, the three just discussed. Is it possible that this kingdom was founded on the values of these three gems? It's impossible to know, but I love how these small details can imply something as big as this. Category:Blog posts